Oregon’s Dante Moore delays NFL dreams, returns to Ducks

EUGENE — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was facing a big decision as the deadline to enter the NFL Draft was Wednesday. The 20-year-old announced his plans to return for another season with the Ducks on ESPN’s Sportscenter Wednesday morning. 

“I’ll be coming back to Oregon for one more year and being able to play for the Oregon Ducks and, of course, reach our goal and be national champions,” Moore said.

“Of course, I’ll be coming back to Oregon for one more year.”

Dante Moore tells SportsCenter that he’s running it back with the Ducks to chase a national championship next season 😤 pic.twitter.com/8YpwVafPjJ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 14, 2026

The decision is a big boost to Oregon’s hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff championship game after falling short in the semifinals this season.

In his first season as a starter at Oregon, Moore completed nearly 72% of his passes for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran for a pair of touchdowns. 

Moore was considered by many analysts as the 2nd-best quarterback in this year’s draft class, behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.